Organisational Behaviour For Era Of Rapid Globalisation

Personality and Job Performance

Discuss about the Organisational Behaviour for Era of Rapid Globalisation.

People are the most precious assets of an organisation in today’s era of rapid globalisation, fierce competition and increasing complexity. Organisations must ensure that these assets are managed effectively and upgraded in a timely manner to achieve their goals and objectives (Hellriegel & John W. Slocum, 2011). An organisations performance and productivity completely depends on the performance and productivity of their employees. It is not only important to attract and retain competent employees but it is also important to understand them and study their behaviour towards their work and others to identify factors that influence employee motivation and performance at work.

Organisational behaviour is the study of human behaviour within groups in an organisational setting (King & Lawley, 2013). Studying employee behaviour within workplace help organisations determines ways of enhancing employee motivation and engagement which in turn help increasing overall organisational performance and productivity. Every individual has a unique personality which influences their behaviour at work. Human behaviour at workplace has a direct impact on job performance, indicating a direct relationship between personality and job performance. The objective of this essay is to study the relationship between personality and job performance and determine how this knowledge can be applied by OB scholars and leaders in organisations.

For decades, leaders and OB scholars have been investigating how an individual’s personality affects their performance and commitment towards their work (Rothmann & Coetzer, 2003). Considering and evaluating the personality of a potential candidate during the interview process is an important part of the recruitment process. It is often heard that interviewers look for personalities that can show loyalty and commitment towards their work and the organisation. Every individual has a unique personality which makes them different from others. Personality is defined as the set of qualities and characteristics that are responsible for forming an individual’s unique character (Ali et al., 2011). This set of individual differences is influenced by the development of attitude, values, beliefs, social relationships, skills, habits and personal memories within an individual during different phases of life. Scholars identify personality as the force that drives behaviour.

Personality of an individual remains consistent over time and in different situations and is considered the primary predictor of their success at work. As personality affects employee behaviour which in turn influences employee performance, it is evident that personality of an employee determines their job performance.

The Big Five-Factor Model of Personality

Job performance is defined as a multi-dimensional construct which is the measure of how well the tasks are being performed by employees, what initiatives they take while solving a problem and how resourceful they are in decision making (Jankingthong & Rurkkhum, 2012). Job performance also indicates the way employee use the resources available to them, level of task completeness and the amount of energy and time spent on a specific task. Job performance is affected by several factors that are divided into two broad categories namely, situational factors and dispositional factors (Jankingthong & Rurkkhum, 2012). Job characteristics, content of the job, work environment, interpersonal relationship with co-workers and the job itself are categorised as situational factors. Individual variables such as attitudes, needs, preferences, motives and personality characteristics that determine an individual’s tendency to react in a predefined manner to different situations are categorised as dispositional factors.

An organisation’s effectiveness depends upon two forms of employee behaviour namely; Task performance which refers to employee behaviours that directly affect the production of goods and services and support the core technical processes (Davoudi & Allahyari, 2013). Formal reward systems are implemented to evaluate and recognise this kind of employee behaviour. Contextual performance is the second type of behaviour which identifies employee behaviour and efforts that have no direct relation to the main tasks being performed by them, however they have a direct affect on organisation’s culture, values and belief which serve as a catalyst in enhancing overall effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation (Davoudi & Allahyari, 2013). Results of several studies in the field of organisational behaviour also reveal that job performance is greatly influenced by factors such as an individual’s need for achievement, locus of control, self respect, aptitude, affective temperament and the way these factors interact with each other. Job performance is the measure of both task performance and contextual performance both of which are affected by behaviour which in turn is determinant of individual personality.

It is evident that an individual’s personality plays a vital role in determining his performance at work. However to better understand the relationship between personality and job performance and how the knowledge of this relationship can help OB scholars and leaders within an organisational context, it is beneficial to study it from a trait perspective using the big five-factor model of personality dimensions.  The ‘Big-Five’ factor model of personality dimensions is one of the most widely recognised and accepted model of personality which describe individuals personality using five distinct scales called, Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (Gosling et al., 2003). The ‘Big-Five’ personality model also called as the OCEAN model is often used by human resource professionals to understand employee behaviour at work and identify ways of effective employee engagement and motivation. Studying the personality traits of an employee help human resource professionals in ensure right candidate is allocated to right task in the right way to ensure organisational goals are achieved. The big five personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism are the underlying traits that make up an employee’s overall personality (Gurven et al., 2013). Basic understanding of these five personality traits helps understand an individual’s overall personality and how it affects behaviour at workplace.

Openness Personality Trait

Openness is the personality trait that characterises insightfulness and imagination. Individual’s with a high in this trait have a wide variety of interests and are keen to learn new things and take up new experiences. Employees that score a high in openness prove as valuable resource to the organisation as they are key drivers to innovation. They are highly creative and are willing to accept new challenges. They support development of a knowledge sharing organisational culture owing to their trust for more learning (Sogunro, 1999). They are always ready to take up new tasks and have complete information of almost all processes being carried out within the organisation. They are ready to take initiatives and are good problem solvers. They are the technical experts who are looked upon by other team members when they get stuck in major issues. They either have the solutions ready or possess the ability to find quick solutions.

Employees with a high in openness should be allocated to pilot projects or new product development roles to derive best performance from them. People with a high in openness make excellent leaders owing to their attentiveness to inner feelings and aesthetic sensitivity. They are independent decision makers as they are confident about their knowledge and abilities. Transformational leaders often score a high in openness, they are unconventional and are always ready to question and eradicate the traditional ways of doing things (Judge & Bono, 2000). They entertain new social, ethical and political ideas and are willing to question authorities. Employees with a high in openness contribute greatly towards the overall growth and development of the organisation and possess the ability to be future leaders. Openness to experience can help an individual grow in areas of consulting, change management and training. Leaders should ensure that employees with a high in openness are allocated to tasks that require high insightfulness, imagination and learning to achieve desired performance goals. However it is evident from above discussion that openness to experience increases an individual’s chances to grow however it is not a predictor of job performance owing to the fact that requirements of different jobs are different.

Conscientiousness is the personality trait that characterises   organisation, planning and methodology (Conrad & Patry, 2012). Individuals with a high in conscientiousness are organised and thorough. They are very careful while performing tasks in their personal and professional lives. They know how to make plans and stick to them till desired goals are achieved. Conscientiousness is the measure of self-control and an individual’s ability to plan, organise and carry out tasks. A person that scores a high in conscientiousness is found to be strong-willed, purposeful and determined. They are hardworking, persistent and achievement oriented. They are responsible and careful, on whom teams and organisations can depend. They expect things and plans to work in an orderly manner making them excellent managers (Dudley et al., 2006). However, sometimes managers with a high conscientiousness lead to annoying fastidiousness owing to their desire for perfection, compulsory neatness and workaholic behaviour.

Managers with a high conscientiousness often lead to the development of a task culture wherein they expect their employees to complete their tasks in a planning and organised manner following the defined methods. Conscientiousness influence employee behaviour at work and determine their level of loyalty and commitment towards their work and organisations. Employees with a high conscientiousness are highly reliable and greatly value honesty and integrity. They are the ones with whom organisations can share their biggest secrets and rest ensured that they are in safe hands. Researches reveal a significant correlation between this personality trait and job performance owing to the conceptual relationship that exists between conscientiousness and integrity (Gurven et al., 2013). Conscientiousness influence employee behaviour at work and thus share a correlation with job performance. An understanding of the relationship between conscientiousness and job performance and help OB scholars and leaders identify high performing managers within an organisation.

Extraversion is the personality trait that is characterised by high energy, assertiveness and a passion to interact with others (Misha et al., 2015). These people get charges when they interact with others and are in the happiest of their moods when they are in a crowd. Individuals with a high in extraversion are very talkative, sociable, assertive and energetic. Extraverts are recognised by their positive attitude and energy and thus have a positive effect on their surroundings. They are friendly and can easily connect emotionally with others around them. They are the magicians who can win hearts and develop a relationship of trust (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2008). They support organisations in the development of people culture wherein employees are considered as the most precious assets of the organisation. They are people managers who know exactly what their employees want and how they can be motivated to deliver high performance.

Employees with a high in extraversion prove to be best sales professionals owing to their art of social interaction and effective communication. Jobs that involve high level of interaction need individuals with high extraversion, thus establishing a positive relationship between this personality trait and job performance. Charismatic leaders often score a high in extraversion as they use their personality and charisma to win people (Sparks, 2014). Employees with this personality trait behave in a positive manner which leads to development of a positive workplace environment and thus leads to desired level of job performance. Knowledge of this positive relationship between extraversion personality trait and job performance can help OB scholars and leaders identify it as a means of establishing positive work environment and increase employee motivation and commitment at work.

Agreeableness is the personality trait that characterises kindness, affection and sympathy. Individuals with a high agreeableness are found to be very friendly, kind hearted, compassionate and cooperative. Agreeable employees are fundamentally altruistic and sympathetic to others (Jankingthong & Rurkkhum, 2012). They are always ready to help and expect the same from others. These employees believe in healthy competition and support in the development of knowledge sharing culture. However too much of agreeableness often leads to the person getting misused. Employees who score a high in agreeableness often end up making decisions that are supported by others even if they have a different opinion. Un-healthy competition has adverse affect on employee performance; still a healthy competition makes the work appear important and challenging to employees.

Agreeableness predicts job performance in roles that desire excellent customer service and strong team bonding. However, in case of leadership roles, high agreeableness can lead to loss of power and poor decision making as leader will not possess an ability to disagree with his followers even when his vision and thoughts will be different from them (Judge & Bono, 2000). Knowledge of the relationship between agreeableness and job performance help OB scholars and leaders evaluate the significance of two way communication and employee empowerment within an organisation.

Neuroticism also referred to as emotional stability determines an individual’s ability to remain emotionally stable and control negative emotions in different situations (Judge & Bono, 2000). People who score a high in neuroticism are found to be emotionally less stable and they experience negative emotions more often than people who score a low in neuroticism. An employee’s behaviour at work is influenced by both positive and negative emotions at workplace. Negative emotions such as sadness, fear, anger, embarrassment, disgust and guilt is felt by almost every individual in some point of time, the degree to which people react to these negative emotions determine their level of emotional stability or neuroticism.

Employees with a low score in neuroticism are preferred as they can control their impulses and can effectively manage work related stress. Leaders and managers with a low score in neuroticism are found to be more effective and can easily deal with conflicts (Rawung, 2013). Researches reveal that neuroticism shares a negative or inversely proportional relationship with job performance and a low score in this trait ensure high performance in almost all roles within an organisation. Knowledge of this negative relationship between neuroticism and job performance help OB scholars and leaders select emotionally stable managers and employees who can effectively manage stress and can keep calm in adverse situations (Shahzad et al., 2012). Employees with a low score in neuroticism help in development of high performing teams.

Conclusion

Study of human behaviour within groups is essential for the overall success of the organisation. People behave differently in different situations and it is their behaviour towards their work, co-workers, leaders and the organisation that determine their success or failure. It is often seen that employees who are effectively motivated and engaged deliver high performance and commitment towards organisational goals. Employee motivation and engagement both result in positive and gaol-oriented behaviour, encouraging employees to make their best efforts. Personality of an employee says a lot about their predicted behaviour. Individuals who score a high in openness and extraversion are likely to display positive behaviour when they are moved to new teams or location whereas individual who score a low in openness and extraversion are likely to express negative emotions and behaviour when introduced to changes.

Employees who score a high in conscientiousness are likely to make excellent managers owing to their expertise in planning, organising and controlling things. However if these managers score a high in agreeableness or a low in neuroticism  they will experience a lack of power and employee engagement as they will not be taken seriously by employees. Different personality traits share different relationship with job performance. Openness to experience has no relationship with job performance. Conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness have a positive relationship with job performance. Neuroticism on the contrary has a negative relationship with job performance. Knowledge of these relationships can help OB scholars and leaders identify factors whose presence can make organisations a better place to work.

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